Surfacing local inventory

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are various embodiments for surfacing local inventory. Data representing a global inventory of items stored in several materials handling facilities is provided in a computing device. A portion of the global inventory that is stored in one or more of the materials handling facilities located within a region is identified. One or more network pages are generated that surface one or more items included in the portion of the global inventory in association with one or more dedicated items stored in the one or more materials handling facilities. The dedicated items are dedicated for delivery within the region.

BACKGROUND

Merchants may fulfill orders for items by way of a fulfillment networkincluding one or more fulfillment centers. These fulfillment centers maybe geographically distributed to provide more efficient service thanwould be possible through a centralized location.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood withreference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings arenot necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the disclosure. Moreover, in thedrawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a drawing of a networked environment according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart that illustrates one example of functionalityimplemented as a portion of an electronic commerce application executedin a server in the networked environment of FIG. 1 according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram that provides one exampleillustration of a server employed in the networked environment of FIG. 1according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A merchant may have a fulfillment network with fulfillment centers thatare geographically dispersed. Typically, the fulfillment network isdesigned to fulfill a global inventory of items. As used herein, “items”may refer to products, goods, digital downloads, services, and/or anyother item that may be ordered and delivered. Orders are taken from alarge geographic area via, for example, the Internet, phone, mail, orsome other form of communication.

The orders may then be fulfilled by a fulfillment center that has theordered items in stock and that is typically nearest the deliverylocation of the customer. In some cases, such a fulfillment center maybe hundreds of miles away. Orders are fulfilled by shipping carrierssuch as the United States Postal Service®, UPS®, FedEx®, DHL®, and/orother shipping carriers. Although same-day or next-day delivery optionsmay be available from the shipping carriers, same-day or next-daydelivery may be prohibitively expensive. Therefore, an ordinaryfulfillment network is not well suited for delivery of consumable items,which are items that are used and replenished on a regular basis suchas, for example, perishable items.

However, the merchant may augment its fulfillment network to providedelivery of consumable items where practical. For example, a fulfillmentcenter may stock an inventory of items dedicated to the regionsurrounding the fulfillment center. The fulfillment center may thenoffer delivery of those items to the region through a local deliverysystem. As a non-limiting example, a local delivery system may comprisedelivery agents and a fleet of vehicles that are used to deliver itemsvia planned routes to customer-specified locations. As anothernon-limiting example, a local delivery system may comprise a set offixed locations in the region to which ordered items are delivered,whereby a customer may travel to a designated one of the fixed locationsto pick up an order. As yet another non-limiting example, a localdelivery system may comprise a centralized location where customers maypick up orders. Where a merchant has a network site, the merchant mayhave a separate network site for customers in the served areas to orderthe dedicated items.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a fulfillment centerwith a local delivery system that maintains dedicated items in stock mayalso maintain at least a portion of a global inventory of items instock. In such embodiments, customers may order dedicated items such as,for example, groceries and other consumable and/or perishable items,together with items from the global inventory, and have the orderdelivered through the local delivery system. Alternatively, a customermay order only an item from global inventory, which may be fulfilledthrough the fulfillment center with the local delivery system. Thepresent disclosure relates to surfacing local inventory on one or morenetwork pages so that items available for delivery through the localdelivery systems are so identified to the customer. In the followingdiscussion, a general description of the system and its components isprovided, followed by a discussion of the operation of the same.

With reference to FIG. 1, shown is a networked environment 100 accordingto various embodiments of the present disclosure. The networkedenvironment 100 includes a server 103 that is in data communication withone or more clients 106 via a network 109 and a plurality of servers112, 115, 118 via a network 121. The networks 109, 121 may include, forexample, the Internet, intranets, extranets, wide area networks (WANs),local area networks (LANs), wired networks, wireless networks, or othersuitable networks, etc., or any combination of two or more suchnetworks. In some embodiments, the networks 109, 121 may comprise asingle network.

The server 103 may comprise, for example, a computing device orcomputing resource such as a server computer or any other systemproviding computing resources. The server 103 may represent multiplecomputer systems arranged, for example, in one or more server banks orother arrangements. Such servers 103 may be located in a singleinstallation or may be dispersed among many different geographicallocations. For purposes of convenience, the server 103 is referred toherein in the singular. However, in one embodiment, the server 103represents a plurality of servers arranged as described above.

The server 103 is configured to execute various applications such as,for example, an electronic commerce application 124 and otherapplications. The electronic commerce application 124 is executed toperform functions relating to interfacing with customers to generatenetwork pages including a catalog of items 127 and other data. Theelectronic commerce application 124 is also executed to receive alocation 130, item orders, payment information, contact information, andother customer information relating to orders.

The server 103 includes a data store 133 and potentially other datastores, which may comprise data and applications configured to provideaccess to the data. The data store 133 may be used to store order data136, materials handling facility (MHF) data 139, inventory data 142,including data respecting a plurality of items 145, and/or potentiallyother data. Order data 136 may include a variety of data respecting anorder, including items 145 that have been ordered, delivery/shippinginformation, payment information, gift wrapping and/or other specialinstructions, customer contact information, and/or other data. MHF data139 includes information respecting a plurality of materials handlingfacilities 148, 151, 154 within a materials handling network 157. MHFdata 139 may include delivery service area information for eachmaterials handling facility 148, 151, 154 in the materials handlingnetwork 157 and/or other data.

Inventory data 142 may include data respecting items 145 that may beavailable for order in global inventory (or a global pool of items 145)or local inventory (a subset or portion of the global pool of items 145)at a materials handling facility 148, 151, 154 in the materials handlingnetwork 157 and/or other data. In particular, information associatedwith items 145 in the inventory data 142 may include, for example,title, description, price, weight, available quantities in the materialshandling network 157, available quantities at each materials handlingfacility 148, 151, 154, shipping availability, and/or other data.

A client 106 may comprise, for example, a computer system such as adesktop, laptop, or other computer system. The client 106 may alsocomprise personal digital assistants, cellular telephones, set-topboxes, or other systems with like capability. Further, the client 106may also comprise any computing device that is network capable that maycommunicate with the server 103 over the network 109 to perform variousfunctions. Such clients 106 may comprise, for example, processor-baseddevices having processor circuits comprising a processor and a memory.

The client 106 may be configured to execute various applications such asa browser 160 and/or other applications. The browser 160 may be executedin a client 106, for example, to access and render network pages, suchas web pages, or other network content served up by the server 103and/or other servers. The client 106 may be configured to executeapplications beyond browser 160 such as, for example, emailapplications, instant message applications, and/or other applications.

In particular, the browser 160 is adapted to receive a catalog of items127 from the server 103 over the network 109. The catalog of items 127includes information about a plurality of items 145 that may beavailable for order such as, for example, a description of a first item145 or a link to another network page regarding a second item 145. Thebrowser 160 is also adapted to provide a location 130 to the server 103.The location 130 may comprise, for example, a delivery address, city,state, postal code, geographic coordinates, and/or some other data thatidentifies a location 130. In various embodiments, the location 130details may be currently stored on the server 103, and the location 130may comprise an identifier that enables the electronic commerceapplication 124 to associate the client 106 with one or more storedlocations.

The materials handling network 157 includes a plurality of materialshandling facilities 148, 151, 154. The materials handling facilities148, 151, 154 may include one or more of, but are not limited to,warehouses, distribution centers, cross-docking facilities, orderfulfillment centers (also referred to as fulfillment facilities),packaging facilities, shipping facilities, or other facilities orcombination of facilities for performing one or more functions ofmaterial (inventory) handling. Although the example of the threematerials handling facilities 148, 151, 154 is discussed herein, it isunderstood that the materials handling network 157 may comprise anynumber or configuration of materials handling facilities 148, 151, 154.The materials handling facilities 148, 151, 154 included in thematerials handling network 157 may be geographically distributed and/orclustered near population centers. The locations of materials handlingfacilities 148, 151, 154 may be determined based at least in part onfactors such as, but not limited to, availability of a shipping hub,distance to population centers, operating expenses, and/or otherfactors.

Each materials handling facility 148, 151, 154 may be associated with arespective server 112, 115, 118. The servers 112, 115, 118 may comprise,for example, a server computer or any other system providing computingresources. The servers 112, 115, 118 may represent multiple computersystems arranged, for example, in one or more server banks or otherarrangements. Such servers 112, 115, 118 may be located in a singleinstallation or may be dispersed among many different geographicallocations (for example, in each respective materials handling facility148, 151, 154). For purposes of convenience, each server 112, 115, 118is referred to herein in the singular. However, in one embodiment, eachserver 112, 115, 118 represents a plurality of servers arranged asdescribed above. In another embodiment, the functionality of all servers112, 115, 118 may be performed through a single logical system, such asserver 103.

The servers 112, 115, 118 are configured to execute various applicationssuch as, for example, an inventory management system 163 and otherapplications. The servers 112, 115, 118 each include a data store 166and potentially other data stores, which may comprise data andapplications configured to provide access to the data. The data store166 may be used to store data respecting inventory 169, dedicatedinventory 172, and/or other data. Inventory 169 represents those items145 that are part of a global inventory and stocked or stored in therespective materials handling facility 148, 151. Dedicated inventory 172represents those items 145 that are part of a local inventory andstocked or stored in the respective materials handling facility 151,154. Inventory 169 and dedicated inventory 172 may include data such asstorage locations within the facility, quantities available, and/orother data. Dedicated inventory 172 may additionally include data suchas expiration dates for perishable items 145, allowed or restricteddelivery zones, and/or other data.

The inventory management system 163 is executed to maintain and updateinventory 169 and dedicated inventory 172. In various embodiments, theinventory management system 163 may be used to provide real-time accessto the state of the inventory 169 and/or dedicated inventory 172 storedin the respective materials handling facility 148, 151, 154. To thisend, the inventory management system 163 may function alongside othersystems to receive and process updates regarding the real-time status ofthe items 145 stocked in the respective materials handling facility 148,151, 154.

Next, a general description of the operation of the various componentsof the networked environment 100 is provided. To begin, a user of aclient 106 provides a location 130 to the electronic commerceapplication 124. In various embodiments, the location 130 may beprovided at the same time as registering an account or performing someother action through the electronic commerce application 124 or throughother systems of the merchant. In other embodiments, the electroniccommerce application 124 may be able to determine a location 130associated with the client 106 based upon a geolocation technology usingan identifier associated with the client 106. As a non-limiting example,the electronic commerce application 124 may query a database of InternetProtocol (IP) addresses or address ranges based at least in part on anIP address associated with the client 106. The location 130 isultimately a place where ordered items 145 are to be delivered which, insome cases, may not correspond to the physical location 130 of the user.

The electronic commerce application 124 generates one or more networkpages including a catalog of items 127. Each of the one or more networkpages may be generated and/or accessed in response to additionalrequests from the browser 160. The catalog of items 127 may include adefault selection of items 145 such as for a home network page for anetwork site; a selection of items 145 associated with a particularcategory based at least in part on attributes such as cost, popularity,type, brand, etc.; a selection of items 145 based at least in part on asearch query provided by the client 106; and/or other items 145determined according to some criteria. If the client 106 is determinedto be associated with a location 130 that is within a region served by amaterial handling facility 151, 154 that stocks dedicated inventory 172,the catalog of items 127 may include one or more items 145 that are inthe dedicated inventory 172.

As a non-limiting example, if a client 106 is determined to beassociated with a location 130 within a metropolitan area, and thematerials handling facility 154 corresponds to a fulfillment warehousein the metropolitan area that is determined to serve the location 130via a local delivery system, then the catalog of items 127 may includethose items 145 that are in stock at the materials handling facility 154and available for local delivery to the location 130. In this regard,the electronic commerce application 124 may serve up a network sitefocused on the ordering of dedicated items 145 from the dedicatedinventory 172 within geographic areas that are served by local deliverysystems of materials handling facilities 151, 154.

Additionally, the electronic commerce application 124 may be configuredto include one or more items 145 in the catalog of items 127 from theglobal inventory 169 that are stocked in a materials handling facility148, 151 having a local delivery system that serves the location 130.For example, if a customer is searching for items 145 that are relatedto the term “peach,” the electronic commerce application 124 maygenerate a catalog of items 127 that offers for order dedicated items145 from the dedicated inventory 172 including several varieties offresh peaches, peach muffins, peach cookies, and other relevantdedicated items 145 that may be delivered through a local deliverysystem to the location 130 of the customer. Along with such dedicateditems 145, the electronic commerce application 124 may also includeitems 145 from global inventory 169 that may also be fulfilled throughthe local delivery system such as a cookbook titled “Cooking withPeaches.” Such items 145 may be embedded within the other dedicateditems 145 or highlighted within a side bar or other network pagefeature.

Any other items 145 from global inventory 169 that may be fulfilledthrough a local delivery system may also be featured in the catalog ofitems 127, regardless of relevance to a search query. For example, thecatalog of items 127 may include a popular item 145 such as, forexample, a best-selling music album for the current week. Such items 145may be presented alongside other relevant items 145 in order to beconsidered as possible impulse purchases, being analogous to productssold in supermarket checkout stands.

As another non-limiting example, a customer having a location 130 servedby a local delivery system may be searching for a certain book. The bookmay have several editions that are available in global inventory 169such as a hardcover first edition, a paperback second edition, ahardcover abridged edition, and so on. The electronic commerceapplication 124 may determine that the paperback second edition isstocked in a materials handling facility 148 that can provide deliverythrough a local delivery system to the location 130, while the otheredition is stocked in another materials handling facility 148 that isseveral states away.

Accordingly, the electronic commerce application 124 may surface thelocal inventory by indicating the special status of the paperback secondedition within the generated catalog of items 127 by ranking within thecatalog of items 127, accompanying the description of the paperbacksecond edition with a special indicia or descriptive text, excluding theother editions from a first network page including the portion of thecatalog of items 127, and/or by other indications. The customer is thenable to make an informed decision about which edition of the book toorder given that the paperback edition may be available for same-daydelivery to the location 130 at a reasonable cost.

When a location 130 is not served by a local delivery system of amaterials handling facility 148, 151, 154, the electronic commerceapplication 124 may be configured to generate a catalog of items 127comprising only items 145 available in an inventory 169 but not in adedicated inventory 172. In such a case, the items 145 may be availablefor delivery by way of a traditional shipping option provided by ashipping carrier. Such a catalog of items 127 may be also generated inthe case where a location 130 has not been provided or otherwiseidentified to the client 106.

In various embodiments, the electronic commerce application 124 may beconfigured to determine the local inventory stored in each of thematerials handling facilities 148, 151, 154 in the materials handlingnetwork 157 by querying an inventory management system 163 correspondingto each respective facility over the network 121. The respectiveinventory management system 163 may confer with the data stored ininventory 169 and/or dedicated inventory 172 to determine the items 145that are available for fulfillment. In some embodiments, the inventorymanagement system 163 may be configured to provide real-time inventorydata 142. Alternatively, the electronic commerce application 124 may beconfigured to determine from pending orders in the order data 136 whichitems 145 have been ordered but not yet fulfilled.

In this way, the electronic commerce application 124 may be able toascertain what inventory 169 and/or dedicated inventory 172 in a givenmaterials handling facility 148, 151, 154 can be discretely allocated toa future order. To this end, the electronic commerce application 124 maycache a snapshot of the local inventories within inventory data 142.Additionally, the electronic commerce application 124 may be configuredto reserve tentatively items 145 displayed in a catalog of items 127 fora customer so they are not all ordered by other customers for a timeperiod or while the catalog of items 127 is being rendered by browser160 to the customer.

In some embodiments, as a non-limiting example, a customer may place anorder for a first item 145 in dedicated inventory 172 at a materialshandling facility 154 and a second item 145 in inventory 169 at amaterials handling facility 148. Both materials handling facilities 148,154 may offer local delivery to a location 130 associated with thecustomer. In such a case, the second item 145 may be forwarded to thematerials handling facility 154 so that both items 145 are delivered ina single delivery. In various embodiments, the materials handlingfacilities 148, 151, 154 may have differing systems of accounting andmay be associated with different network sites served up by theelectronic commerce application 124. Therefore, some embodiments may beconfigured such that a first network site associated with the first item145 may purchase the second item 145 from a second network site in amanner that is handled substantially transparently to the customer.

After viewing the catalog of items 127, a customer may decide to orderone or more items 145. Through various interactions, the customer placesan order through the electronic commerce application 124. As anon-limiting example, a customer may order an item 145 from globalinventory 169 that is within a local inventory 169 along with anotheritem 145 from a dedicated inventory 172. Furthermore, the electroniccommerce application 124 may be configured to display additional items145 for order as part of a checkout workflow. In various embodiments,the electronic commerce application 124 may be configured to generateone or more manifests in the applicable materials handling facilities148, 151, 154 specifying same-day delivery of the order at the deliverylocation 130 of the customer.

Moving now to FIG. 2, shown is a flowchart that provides one example ofthe operation of a portion of the electronic commerce application 124according to various embodiments. It is understood that the flowchart ofFIG. 2 provides merely an example of the many different types offunctional arrangements that may be employed to implement the operationof the portion of the electronic commerce application 124 as describedherein. As an alternative, the flowchart of FIG. 2 may be viewed asdepicting an example of steps of a method implemented in the server 103(FIG. 1) according to one or more embodiments.

Beginning with box 203, the electronic commerce application 124maintains a global inventory 169 (FIG. 1) of items 145 (FIG. 1) in aplurality of materials handling facilities 148, 151, 154 (FIG. 1). Someof the materials handling facilities 148, 151, 154 may offer localdelivery to a region through a local delivery system, while others ofthe materials handling facilities 148, 151, 154 may offer no such localdelivery option. The electronic commerce application 124 may be equippedto track the real-time inventory in each of the materials handlingfacilities 148, 151, 154 by communicating with the inventory managementsystem 163 (FIG. 1) of the respective materials handling facility 148,151, 154. In this way, the inventory data 142 (FIG. 1) may be updatedand/or synchronized according to inventory 169, dedicated inventory 172(FIG. 1), and/or other inventory data 142. Additionally, the electroniccommerce application 124 may be configured to update the inventory data142 according to orders that have been received in order data 136(FIG. 1) to ensure that all of the available local inventory of an item145 at a particular materials handling facility 148, 151, 154 has notalready been discretely allocated to orders.

The electronic commerce application 124 continues to box 206 anddetermines at least one delivery location 130 (FIG. 1) associated with auser or customer. The location 130 may be provided by the user to theelectronic commerce application 124 in the form of an address, postalcode, city, state, geographic coordinates, and/or some other form oflocation. The user may instead provide an identifier to the electroniccommerce application 124, thereby permitting the electronic commerceapplication 124 to ascertain the location 130 from stored data.

In box 209, the electronic commerce application 124 identifies materialshandling facilities 148, 151, 154 in a region including the deliverylocation 130. In particular, the electronic commerce application 124 mayconsult the MHF data 139 (FIG. 1) to determine the regions served by thematerials handling facilities 148, 151, 154. Such regions may beexpressed, for example, as a list of addresses, a listing of postalcodes, a geographic area, a city or cities, a county or counties, astate or states, etc. The electronic commerce application 124 comparesthe regions associated with the materials handling facilities 148, 151,154 to determine matches for the location 130, i.e., where the location130 is within one or more of the served regions.

The electronic commerce application 124 then determines in box 212whether any such materials handling facilities 148, 151, 154 have beenidentified. If no materials handling facilities 148, 151, 154 have beenidentified, then the electronic commerce application 124 ends.Otherwise, if one or more materials handling facilities 148, 151, 154have been identified, the electronic commerce application 124 proceedsto box 215.

In box 215, the electronic commerce application 124 determinesunallocated items 145 from global inventory 169 at the identifiedmaterials handling facilities 148, 151, 154. The unallocated items 145are items 145 that have not been discretely allocated to an order. Invarious embodiments, the electronic commerce application 124 maydetermine the unallocated items 145 by consulting an inventorymanagement system 163 or by examining pending customer orders in orderdata 136 and/or other data.

Next, in box 218, the electronic commerce application 124 generates oneor more network pages surfacing at least one of the unallocated items145 from global inventory 169 in association with one or more items 145that are dedicated for delivery within the regions including thelocation 130. In other words, the unallocated items 145 from globalinventory 169 are surfaced in conjunction with items 145 from dedicatedinventory 172 stored in one of the identified materials handlingfacilities 151, 154. Both sets of items 145 are stored in localinventory at one or more of the identified materials handling facilities148, 151, 154 and available for delivery through a local deliverysystem. The items 145 that are surfaced as a catalog of items 127(FIG. 1) may be manually preselected, randomly selected, selectedaccording to a user-provided search query, and/or selected by some otherfunction.

Finally, in box 221, the electronic commerce application 124 sends theone or more generated network pages to the client 106 (FIG. 1)associated with the user or customer. The electronic commerceapplication 124 then ends.

Referring next to FIG. 3, shown is a schematic block diagram of theserver 103 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Theserver 103 includes a processor circuit, for example, having a processor303 and a memory 306, both of which are coupled to a local interface309. To this end, the server 103 may comprise, for example, a servercomputer or like device or any other form of computing resourceincluding a processor circuit. The local interface 309 may comprise, forexample, a data bus with an accompanying address/control bus or otherbus structure as can be appreciated.

Stored in the memory 306 are both data and several components that areexecutable by the processor 303. In particular, stored in the memory 306and executable by the processor 303 are an electronic commerceapplication 124 (FIG. 1) and potentially other applications. Also storedin the memory 306 may be a data store 133 (FIG. 1) and other data. Inaddition, an operating system may be stored in the memory 306 andexecutable by the processor 303.

It is understood that there may be other applications that are stored inthe memory 306 and are executable by the processors 303 as can beappreciated. Where any component discussed herein is implemented in theform of software, any one of a number of programming languages may beemployed such as, for example, C, C++, C#, Objective C, Java, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, Visual Basic, Python, Ruby, Delphi, Flash, or otherprogramming languages.

A number of software components are stored in the memory 306 and areexecutable by the processor 303. In this respect, the term “executable”means a program file that is in a form that can ultimately be run by theprocessor 303. Examples of executable programs may be, for example, acompiled program that can be translated into machine code in a formatthat can be loaded into a random access portion of the memory 306 andrun by the processor 303, source code that may be expressed in properformat such as object code that is capable of being loaded into a randomaccess portion of the memory 306 and executed by the processor 303, orsource code that may be interpreted by another executable program togenerate instructions in a random access portion of the memory 306 to beexecuted by the processor 303, etc. An executable program may be storedin any portion or component of the memory 306 including, for example,random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard drive,solid-state drive, USB flash drive, memory card, optical disc such ascompact disc (CD) or digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, magnetictape, or other memory components.

The memory 306 is defined herein as including both volatile andnonvolatile memory and data storage components. Volatile components arethose that do not retain data values upon loss of power. Nonvolatilecomponents are those that retain data upon a loss of power. Thus, thememory 306 may comprise, for example, random access memory (RAM),read-only memory (ROM), hard disk drives, solid-state drives, USB flashdrives, memory cards accessed via a memory card reader, floppy disksaccessed via an associated floppy disk drive, optical discs accessed viaan optical disc drive, magnetic tapes accessed via an appropriate tapedrive, and/or other memory components, or a combination of any two ormore of these memory components. In addition, the RAM may comprise, forexample, static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random accessmemory (DRAM), or magnetic random access memory (MRAM) and other suchdevices. The ROM may comprise, for example, a programmable read-onlymemory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), anelectrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or otherlike memory device.

Also, the processor 303 may represent multiple processors 303 and thememory 306 may represent multiple memories 306 that operate in parallelprocessing circuits, respectively. In such a case, the local interface309 may be an appropriate network 109 (FIG. 1) that facilitatescommunication between any two of the multiple processors 303, betweenany processor 303 and any of the memories 306, or between any two of thememories 306, etc. The local interface 309 may comprise additionalsystems designed to coordinate this communication, including, forexample, performing load balancing. The processor 303 may be ofelectrical or of some other available construction.

Although the electronic commerce application 124 and other varioussystems described herein may be embodied in software or code executed bygeneral purpose hardware as discussed above, as an alternative the samemay also be embodied in dedicated hardware or a combination ofsoftware/general purpose hardware and dedicated hardware. If embodied indedicated hardware, each can be implemented as a circuit or statemachine that employs any one of or a combination of a number oftechnologies. These technologies may include, but are not limited to,discrete logic circuits having logic gates for implementing variouslogic functions upon an application of one or more data signals,application specific integrated circuits having appropriate logic gates,or other components, etc. Such technologies are generally well known bythose skilled in the art and, consequently, are not described in detailherein.

The flowchart of FIG. 2 shows the functionality and operation of animplementation of portions of the electronic commerce application 124.If embodied in software, each block may represent a module, segment, orportion of code that comprises program instructions to implement thespecified logical function(s). The program instructions may be embodiedin the form of source code that comprises human-readable statementswritten in a programming language or machine code that comprisesnumerical instructions recognizable by a suitable execution system suchas a processor in a computer system or other system. The machine codemay be converted from the source code, etc. If embodied in hardware,each block may represent a circuit or a number of interconnectedcircuits to implement the specified logical function(s).

Although the flowchart of FIG. 2 shows a specific order of execution, itis understood that the order of execution may differ from that which isdepicted. For example, the order of execution of two or more blocks maybe scrambled relative to the order shown. Also, two or more blocks shownin succession in FIG. 2 may be executed concurrently or with partialconcurrence. In addition, any number of counters, state variables,warning semaphores, or messages might be added to the logical flowdescribed herein, for purposes of enhanced utility, accounting,performance measurement, or providing troubleshooting aids, etc. It isunderstood that all such variations are within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

Also, any logic or application described herein, including theelectronic commerce application 124, that comprises software or code canbe embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by or in connectionwith an instruction execution system such as, for example, a processorin a computer system or other system. In this sense, the logic maycomprise, for example, statements including instructions anddeclarations that can be fetched from the computer-readable medium andexecuted by the instruction execution system. In the context of thepresent disclosure, a “computer-readable medium” can be any medium thatcan contain, store, or maintain the logic or application describedherein for use by or in connection with the instruction executionsystem. The computer readable medium can comprise any one of manyphysical media such as, for example, electronic, magnetic, optical,electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor media. More specificexamples of a suitable computer-readable medium would include, but arenot limited to, magnetic tapes, magnetic floppy diskettes, magnetic harddrives, memory cards, solid-state drives, USB flash drives, or opticaldiscs. Also, the computer-readable medium may be a random access memory(RAM) including, for example, static random access memory (SRAM) anddynamic random access memory (DRAM), or magnetic random access memory(MRAM). In addition, the computer-readable medium may be a read-onlymemory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM), or other type of memory device.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of thepresent disclosure are merely possible examples of implementations setforth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure.Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-describedembodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit andprinciples of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations areintended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure andprotected by the following claims.

Therefore, the following is claimed:
 1. A computer-implemented methodcomprising: providing, in at least one computing device, inventory datarepresenting a global inventory of products stored in a plurality offulfillment centers, the inventory data including at least one of: anexpiration date for a particular perishable product, an allowed deliveryzone for the particular perishable product, or a restricted deliveryzone for the particular perishable product; determining, in the at leastone computing device, a delivery location associated with a customercorresponding to a client, wherein the delivery location is determinedbased at least in part on a geolocation technology using an identifierassociated with the client, or the delivery location is determined basedat least in part on a user-specified location received from the client;determining, in the at least one computing device, a region whichincludes the delivery location; identifying, in the at least onecomputing device, at least one of the plurality of fulfillment centerslocated within the region, wherein at least another one of the pluralityof fulfillment centers is located in a different region; identifyingfrom the inventory data, in the at least one computing device, a portionof the global inventory that is stored in the at least one of theplurality of fulfillment centers, the portion of the global inventorybeing unallocated to other customers; generating, in the at least onecomputing device, at least one network page that surfaces at least oneproduct included in the portion of the global inventory that isunallocated to the other customers in association with at least oneperishable product stored in the at least one of the plurality offulfillment centers, the at least one perishable product being dedicatedfor delivery within the region, wherein at least one product surfaced inthe at least one network page is unspecified in a request by thecustomer for the at least one network page; sending the at least onenetwork page to the client corresponding to the customer; and whereinthe portion of the global inventory that is stored in the at least oneof the plurality of fulfillment centers located within the region and isunallocated to other customers is available for delivery to thedifferent region, and the at least one perishable product is unavailablefor delivery to the different region.
 2. The computer-implemented methodof claim 1, further comprising: obtaining, from the client, an order forthe at least one product and the at least one perishable product; andgenerating, in the at least one computing system, a manifest in the atleast one of the plurality of fulfillment centers specifying same-daydelivery of the order at the delivery location.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the at least one networkpage includes a description of the at least one perishable product and alink to another network page that describes the at least one product. 4.A computer-implemented method, comprising: providing, in at least onecomputing device, inventory data representing a global inventory ofitems stored in a plurality of materials handling facilities;determining, in the at least one computing device, a regioncorresponding to a client, wherein at least one of the plurality ofmaterials handling facilities is located within the region and at leastanother one of the plurality of materials handling facilities is locatedwithin a different region, the region being determined based at least inpart on a geolocation technology using an identifier associated with theclient, or the region being determined based at least in part on auser-specified location associated with the client; identifying from theinventory data, in the at least one computing device, a portion of theglobal inventory that is stored in the at least one of the plurality ofmaterials handling facilities located within the region; generating, inthe at least one computing device, at least one network page thatsurfaces at least one item included in the portion of the globalinventory stored in the at least one of the plurality of materialshandling facilities within the region in association with at least onededicated item stored in the at least one of the plurality of materialshandling facilities within the region, the at least one dedicated itembeing dedicated for delivery within the region; and wherein the portionof the global inventory stored in the at least one of the plurality ofmaterials handling facilities within the region is available fordelivery to the different region, and the at least one dedicated item isunavailable for delivery to the different region.
 5. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising determining,in the at least one computing device, that a delivery locationassociated with a user is within the region.
 6. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 5, further comprising identifying, in the at least onecomputing device, the at least one of the plurality of materialshandling facilities based at least in part on the delivery location. 7.The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the at least one ofthe plurality of materials handling facilities provides delivery to thedelivery location through a local delivery system that operates only inthe region.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein thelocal delivery system provides same-day delivery.
 9. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the local deliverysystem provides next-day delivery.
 10. The computer-implemented methodof claim 4, wherein the region is a metropolitan area.
 11. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the at least one item isdiscretely allocable to a customer and is unallocated to othercustomers.
 12. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, furthercomprising sending the at least one network page to the client.
 13. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the at least one networkpage offers for order the at least one item and the at least onededicated item.
 14. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, whereinthe at least one network page is generated as part of a checkoutworkflow.
 15. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the atleast one dedicated item is perishable.
 16. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 4, wherein the plurality of materials handlingfacilities are located within a geographic area, the region beinglocated within the geographic area.
 17. The computer-implemented methodof claim 16, wherein the items of the global inventory are offered forstandard shipment within the geographic area and within the differentregion.
 18. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the atleast one item is stored in a first materials handling facility and theat least one dedicated item is stored in a second materials handlingfacility.
 19. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein atleast one of the at least one item or the at least one dedicated itemsurfaced in the at least one network page is unspecified in a request bya customer for the at least one network page.
 20. A system comprising: adata store that stores a representation of a global pool of items storedin a plurality of fulfillment centers; and at least one computing devicein communication with the data store and configured to at least: logicthat determines a region associated with a client, wherein the region isdetermined based at least in part on a geolocation technology using anidentifier associated with the client, or the region is determined basedat least in part on a user-specified location associated with theclient; logic that identifies at least one of the plurality offulfillment centers located within the region, wherein at least anotherone of the plurality of fulfillment centers is located within adifferent region; logic that identifies a subset of the global pool ofitems that is stored in the at least one of the plurality of fulfillmentcenters within the region; logic that generates at least one networkpage that surfaces at least one item included in the subset of theglobal pool of items stored in the at least one of the plurality offulfillment centers within the region in association with at least onededicated item stored in the at least one of the plurality offulfillment centers within the region, the at least one dedicated itembeing dedicated for delivery within the region; logic that sends the atleast one network page to the client; and wherein the subset of theglobal pool of items that is stored in the at least one of the pluralityof fulfillment centers within the region is available for delivery tothe different region, and the at least one dedicated item is unavailablefor delivery to the different region.
 21. The system of claim 20,wherein the at least one computing device is further configured to atleast: logic that obtains an order for at least one item of the globalpool of items from a client, the order specifying a selection ofsame-day delivery for the at least one item; and logic that generates amanifest including the at least one item for fulfillment at the at leastone of the plurality of fulfillment centers.
 22. A non-transitorycomputer readable medium including an electronic commerce applicationexecutable by at least one computing device, wherein when executed theelectronic commerce application causes the at least one computing deviceto at least: provide data representing a global inventory of itemsstored in a plurality of materials handling facilities; determine aregion associated with a client, wherein at least one of the pluralityof materials handling facilities is located within the region and atleast another one of the plurality of materials handling facilities islocated within a different region, the region being determined based atleast in part on a geolocation technology using an identifier associatedwith the client, or the region being determined based at least in parton a user-specified location associated with the client; identify aportion of the global inventory that is stored in the at least one ofthe plurality of materials handling facilities located within theregion; generate at least one network page that includes a descriptionof at least one item included in the portion of the global inventorythat is stored in the at least one of the plurality of materialshandling facilities located within the region and a description of atleast one dedicated item stored in the at least one of the plurality ofmaterials handling facilities located within the region, the at leastone dedicated item being dedicated for delivery within the region; sendthe at least one network page to the client; and wherein the portion ofthe global inventory that is stored in the at least one of the pluralityof materials handling facilities located within the region is availablefor delivery to the different region, and the at least one dedicateditem is unavailable for delivery to the different region.